Accelerating the transition from animal-based to alternative dietary proteins – the dietary shift – is key to reducing the footprint of our food system in terms of greenhouse gas emissions (GHG), energy, water and land use, and other relevant environmental impacts, and for improving the health and well-being of people, animals and the planet. GIANT LEAPS delivers the strategic innovations, methodologies, and open-access datasets to speed up this dietary shift, in line with the Farm-to-Fork strategy and contributing to the Green Deal target of reaching climate neutrality by 2050. Achieving the dietary shift in practice is inherently complex due to the diverse set of actors involved and further hindered by major knowledge gaps, scattered across the various alternative protein sources and the domains of health (safety, allergenicity and digestibility), environment (GHGs and other environmental and climate impacts, biodiversity, circularity), and/or barriers to adoption (technological, sensory, and consumer acceptance). The GIANT LEAPS consortium consists of the key actors and spans all expertise to address relevant knowledge gaps and proactively engages to arrive at optimized future diets based on alternative proteins that are broadly accepted across stakeholder groups. In order to deliver required insights for short-, mid- and long-term decision making and impact, GIANT LEAPS protein sources have been selected for either targeted or full assessment based on their current level of specification. The innovations and improved methods combined with accessible and comprehensive information, generated for a wide collection of alternative proteins, will enable policymakers to prioritise changes in the food system towards the dietary shift based on desired impact, value chain actors to make strategic scientific, business and investment choices, and the general public to make more sustainable and healthy dietary choices.

The overall objective of MeCCAM is to develop, implement and recommend climate mitigation and adaptation solutions and increase the resilience and sustainability in the fisheries sector. MeCCAM employs an integrated multi-actor approach to deliver relevant and feasible results to support the fishing industry and policymakers. The outputs include: decision support tools allowing fishers to mitigate and adapt to climate change; innovative fishing gears to improve selectivity, fuel efficiency, and minimise habitat damage; and an environmental impact management software to reduce carbon emissions, and other impacts across the value chain. The solutions will be designed and implemented within six case studies (CSs) which have been selected for their suitability to address a multitude of challenges posed by climate change. MeCCAM also builds adaptive capacity by delivering: climate-informed advice prototypes for CSs; mitigation and adaptation plans at the CS level, as well as general recommendations; CS-specific plans for commercial utilisation of emerging species; and a policy brief on how to improve governance for mitigation and adaptation in the sector. Project outputs will be evaluated for their environmental and socio-economic efficacy in close collaboration with stakeholders. MeCCAM´s evidence-based and demand-driven solutions have a high potential for transferability to various regions and contexts and will provide actors with tools and pathways to advance climate resilience. MeCCAM will, therefore, contribute to the European Green Deal, the Common Fisheries Policy, the European Biodiversity Strategy for 2030, the Farm to Fork Strategy, United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goals 12, 13 and 14, as well as the Ocean Decade challenges 2, 3, 4, and 6.

Animal-based proteins constitute a significant ingredient in European food systems. Dependence on animal-based proteins comes with substantial environmental and health impacts. Hence, the transition toward plant protein-based food systems is now more critical than ever. MICROBIOMES4SOY is an interdisciplinary and intersectoral project that employs a Multi-Actor Approach to ensure that food system actors' needs and key components relevant to the FOOD 2030 priorities are addressed. MICROBIOMES4SOY aims to enable transition pathways by delivering a comprehensive understanding of the microbiomes along the food and feed chains. Exploiting the microbiomes' full potential is essential to ensure sustainable and nutritious food and feed as they are important players throughout the food system, ranging from primary production, where microbes improve plant growth and health, to food production based on microbial processes and ultimately linking to the interactions between animal/human microbiomes and host health. MICROBIOMES4SOY focuses on the soya bean model system, an important protein-rich crop. The project will develop second-generation microbiome applications that sustain crop productivity and improve soya bean seeds' nutritional value and safety under different environmental conditions. MICROBIOMES4SOY will test the effect of dietary intervention based on soya bean-derived protein on the human gut microbiome and health and elaborate microbiome-informed dietary recommendations. The project will also employ microbiome-based solutions to develop novel aquafeeds and establish their effects on the fish gut microbiome and health. MICROBIOMES4SOY consortium comprises 19 partners from 11 countries contributing complementary expertise on soil, plant, human and animal microbiomes, bioinformatics, modelling, crop production, aquaculture, food/feed production, food systems mapping and scientific communication.